About

Current

2014 will see the release of the first studio album by ALIEN ENVOY, the musical collective established by Nick Kelly, former front man with The Fat Lady Sings and Choice Music Prize nominated solo artist.

“ALIEN ENVOY is my way of being allowed to do things that are more collaborative, more experimental and more fun”, is how Nick has described his recently adopted musical persona.

The album has been produced by Nick and Anthony Gibney, with additional production and remixing by Steve Osborne on two tracks, including the first single “Nothing Left To Do But To Dance”.

History

In 2007 Nick Kelly quietly released a series of three new songs under the pseudonym ALIEN ENVOY. The songs received an impressive amount of radio play and press coverage before Nick’s voice was recognized and ALIEN ENVOY’S cover was blown.

October 2010 saw the release of the first ALIEN ENVOY album “Nine Lives”, a collection of nine live performances recorded in fabled Dublin venue Whelans over the course of Gestation, an innovative nine month long live and interactive project. “Nine Lives” features a stellar array of guest collaborators, including former Beautiful South singer Briana Corrigan, songwriting legend Boo Hewerdine, Ann Scott, The Softly Swelling Strings, Joe Chester, Bill Blackmore’s Brass, Pete Pamf and – on the stomping “45” – Nick’s former bandmates in The Fat Lady Sings.

This collaborative approach extended to the public. Work-in-progress recordings were continually posted on the Gestationblog over the course of the project, the sleeve artwork for“Nine Lives” was drawn from original images submitted by fans, and the credits list over 250 people who sponsored the first pressing by buying it pre-release. “Nine Lives” received many critical plaudits on its release in Ireland and the UK:

“Incapable of constructing a duff concept, musical or otherwise” – Irish Times

“A warm, brooding and intimate affair” – Get Ready To Rock (UK)

“Kelly has taken his legacy to a new level” – Roots & Branches (UK)

Prehistory

Nick Kelly’s “rich robust voice and delicately woven lyrics” (Irish Times) first came to prominence when he was lead singer and songwriter with acclaimed Irish band The Fat Lady Sings. After 10 singles, many hundreds of celebratory live shows and two much-praised albums on EastWest / Atlantic, Nick split the band in 1994.

In 1997, he released his first solo album “Between Trapezes”, on his own defiantly independent Self Possessed Records label. This album, the pressing of which was funded by a direct appeal to his fans, was described by Hot Press Magazine as “album of the decade”. In 1999, Nick won the accolade of Male Solo Artist of the Year at that year’s Irish Music Critics Awards.

In 2005 Nick finally released his second solo album, and, despite the long hiatus, proved that he had not lost his ability to fuse powerful words with celestial melodies. “Running Dog” was lauded by Musician as “exquisite” and by the Evening Herald as “a poet’s soulful challenge to the senses”. “Running Dog” was subsequently nominated for “Irish Album of the Year” at the inaugural Choice Music Prize,

In recent years, Nick has also begun writing and directing films with conspicuous success. In 2008 his second short “Why The Irish Dance That Way” was one of just nine short films selected by New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for Shortfest: Outstanding Films from the International Festivals.

His third short screenplay “Shoe” won First Prize at the Vail Film Festival and Second Prize at Los Angeles’ Champion Screenwriting Competition in 2009. The finished film “Shoe”, directed by Nick, was released in September 2010 and was subsequently shortlisted for an Oscar in the Live Action Short category of the 2011 Academy Awards.

In 2011, Nick staged SEE:HEAR for the first time. Incorporating both a live musical performance and screenings of his short films, this 90 minute stage show seeks to demonstrate the many links Nick sees between his work in music and film. SEE:HEARhas been programmed by a number of leading arts venues and events across Ireland, including the Electric Picnic and the Galway Film Fleadh.

In 2012, The Fat Lady Sings reformed to play a blistering set at the Electric Picnic.